The production of knowledge occurs primarily through the medium of scholarly communication. Scholarly communication occurs when experts in particular areas present their ideas and these ideas are then evaluated, debated and then accepted, rejected or modified.
Scholarly communication takes several forms, but the most important is through scholarly publications. It is useful to think of scholarly communication as a conversation that takes place between scholars across time and space.
It is through the medium of citations that scholars are able to identify who they are talking to and in which debate they are engaged.
When you are writing, you are a participant in the scholastic enterprise of advancing human knowledge. Your writing is a form of scholarly communication. Therefore, you must use citations to identify who you are talking to and in which debate you are engaged.
